Chef Ian Oakes to open bistro in Bondi

Ian Oakes, the chef awarded a rack of hats at the Grand National in Paddington, will open a Bondi restaurant in April as operators pick over the one-time sites of Robert Marchetti's former Sydney hospitality empire.

Two properties previously operated by Marchetti quietly closed over Christmas: the giant Keystone Group shut Rushcutters, which traded where Marchetti's Neild Avenue once operated, and his Bondi butchery vision, La Macelleria, also shut its doors.

Oakes confirmed he's taken the La Macelleria site where he'll open a Modern Bistro after a complete refit of the space. "I'm a Bondi local, I want to open the sort of place I'd go to on my day off," Oakes says.

Butcher Peter Andrews, who purchased La Macelleria 15 months ago as Marchetti's local investments soured, told Good Food he wasn't interested long term in the retail operation, but has used the La Macelleria name to develop a food line he's already selling into IGA supermarkets. He's also given his blessing to the store's former manager, Peter Zaidan, who has just opened Macelleria next door to the Bavarian Bier Cafe on Bondi's Campbell Parade.

Zaidan's new store is stocking the butchery meat line as well as introducing burgers. He's no newcomer to the Sydney burger craze, having opened Burgerlicious in 2002.